All Forum Posts by: Daniel Smyth

I would usually use the oil based Kilz because I used to use shelac or varnish before Kilz came about. It would be neat to know if the water based Kilz worked as good as the oil!

Cat and dog urine are hard. 

I live in a home my dad died in. His dog was everything. The dog urinated inside ALWAYS. A Good dog, but the pee kept coming.

When I was the new owner of this dog, I did my best at training. It didn't matter. The dog was a pisser! 

Dog now dead, it is up to me to fix the stench. The carpet was good, but the smells were very bad. When you live in that smell, you get used to it. 
Best thing would have been to remove the carpet. I wanted the rug dad put in. It took a year of washing to get the color right, and remove the stench!

Had I to do this again, I would remove all carpets. I would pour straight bleach on all floors and baseboards. Yes, those windows need to be opened!
I also washed down the walls 3 feet from the floor with straight bleach. I have plaster walls in most of the house, but the drywall portions got the same treatment. Bleach Kills ALL! I am no-nonsense! Bleach will raise the grain of wood not treated well enough. Minor sanding and staining will allow you to manage a stain on unpainted wood. I am a carpenter of almost 50 years. I have used bleach for mold as well! yes, even the "black" mold! Mold is mold! Only someone selling you a product will advise differently! I don't have the time or patience for stupid stuff and pretending that I can just bluff away that smell!
message me directly for more help. If I live close to you, I will show you for free, how to fix the smell!

Free? yes, because I already figured it out! It doesn't cost me a bit to help! That's why we are here, right?
Semper Fidelis!

Yes my friends, we need SMELL-O-Vision in Stereo for this one!

I am much better being there to use my nose and to see where I might get the smells from, but I have an idea. 

A Long time ago, My dad bought the master house of the property we were paying rent on. We moved into THAT house and rented the one we were renting. That rent paid for both houses and the acre of property! WOW! I say that, and wonder why it never sunk into my head to do that until the last 10 years! I was a very young boy!

Anyway, the house was nice, and had large rooms with heat vents everywhere! 

We had that Smell in the main part of the house. Mom was a clean freak! Ned paint all over, and she made the drapes, when that used to be a thing! Inside was new-like and very clean. Still, something dead lingered for the longest time. It was a good thing the house was not insulated so well!

That next summer my dad replaced the old Octopus furnace in the basement with a brand new GAS furnace! He took out the many feet of duct pipe from the basement, and replaced all that too! 

That winter we still had that dead animal smell.

Not sure how he came to check the heating ducts, but he managed to check one set of heating ducts that didn't flow so well. I guess you know where the story goes from here!

A large opossum managed to get into our ductwork, and died between the walls that were used as a plenum for the heating system! 

Sorry for the boring story, but I never just give an opinion on how to solve something, without some background. Lots of armchair-quarterbacks these days, and I am not associated with heating/cooling businesses.

My suggestion, with the request that you let me know if I did help, is to have your HVAC ductwork system cleaned. Not just pay 200 bucks to have them change a filter! The professionals usually snake every vent down with a camera, a brush, and vacuum, to show you before and after too! And yes, if they offer a deodorize treatment of the sort, I would opt for it. It cant hurt!

Dead animal smells in the attic can come into the house through the unsealed vents too.

Dead animal smells WILL go away. Sure, YOU will know they are there, but nature has a way of cleaning stuff up.

Good luck, 

It looks to me as if there was some remodeling done. Quite possibly the previous owners had no idea. 

Funny, but before I saw that the drain was already once filed, I was thinking that I would have filled it as well.

What would I do? 

It's in a bedroom you probably do not need a floor drain in. Previous advice was to get a plumber to cap it off. This was advice I would have taken if I was not handy. If you are a bit handy, your best bet would be to visit your local True Value hardware store, and speak to the manager in the plumbing department. OK, I know this might sound goofy, but the older True Value ( and other named hardware stores) used to really train their employees!

It's worth a shot! 

The drain seems to be a problem because water leaks through it. It may leak moisture through the cracks in the filler, as sewer gasses do contain moisture. So, I can imagine the area getting wet, without a back-up so much. If you notice the two holes in the drain picture, this tells me that there is a P-Trap involved to help prevent sewer gas from coming up. However, once the water in the trap evaporates, the gasses will come!

What would I do? If this were my house, I would clean the train from rust. I would then use some spray foam inside both holes. When the foam cures, tape a clear sheet of plastic over the filled hole and monitor the plastic for a week. Be sure the plastic is sealed well with tape!

As the plumbing is used throughout the building, and especially when HOT water is used, check to see if the plastic rises. If the plastic rises, this means that AIR is coming through the drain! You want NO air coming out of that drain!

Yes, you could spend a few thousand bucks removing and capping the drain. Without being there myself, I figure that I would fill with foam until I am sure no air is coming from the drain into the house. Then I would use a floor patch to patch over the rest of the drain. Oh, Remove the plastic when you are sure air does not escape. 

I have been in construction many years. I can been on jobs where we just plugged up the holes with paper and cemented the hole flat. Sadly, many remodel jobs people do, are rarely returned to. I don't feel there was ill will in this failed repair. I bet it was a repair like most anyone of us might do because we just want to move the house and make a buck! 

All in all, be sure that you take care that you don't FILL the drain up with sand or cement, without something to ensure the whole drain works when you are done! Good luck. I wish I could be more help!

@Max T. With the price of plywood, I will keep to my stud-finders every time.

If you do measurements before you begin the instalation, you can pre-mark where the studs are, and where you will need wall anchors or interior blocking.

@Greg R.

Markets are local.

Like talking religion, talking about markets just makes one push the other.

The markets are good if you gamble with what you can afford to loose.

In 2007 and 2008 it was the same. Those who overextended themselves and then fell on hard times, lost big. I am that guy! Hard times recovered from, I have a new respect for hands on research and perhaps going a bit slower.

@Cody Wageman

I only have fully owned properties in my LLC.

In time, I may use these properties in my LLC to help buy a larger multifamily inside my LLC.

Not worried about being sued of hiding. I have good insurance. I have a real nosey agent too!

I require my tenants to have renter's insurance with liability coverages for dogs and such.

Tenants that refuse, are not mine.

@Gurjot Grewal

Inspections are an eye that is not yours, looking at your potential investment. I pay fir my inspections. It doesn't concern the seller if I have the hone inspected.

I inspect As-Is property as well. I need to know what I need to know!

But that's me. I have been in the construction and building business for 40 years. I still enjoy the words of another before I make an offer.

The past inspections are just icing on the cake, if you can get them and speak to the inspector personally.

Because I do NOT know it all, despite the way I might seem that I do.

Rockford now wants you to sign up and be taxed for your properties rented/leased or vacant.

There is a contracted company that does this, and they will send mail to your property and give you direction. 

The "right" thing to do, would be to contact the Alderman of the Ward your property or proposed property is in, and advise them your intentions. As much as I love to buck the system, It's probably best to just go along with the flow until you know the ropes. After all, it's the cost of doing business, and if you do it right, the tenants end up eating the costs, so you win by playing the game!

When you find yourself in the Rockford area, shoot me a text or leave me a phone message. I don't mind helping with my ideas about the Rockford, Illinois area. Sure things change, but History sometimes repeats it's self. I don't mind helping if I can! 

Perhaps if I find something closer to you, you can return the favor!

@Suong Luu

Could be from slamming the door when things are in the way. There should be damage inside too. Not normal wear at all.